PS4 Update 3.00 Beta Starts Today, More Features Detailed

Sony announced that the System Software 3.00 is now available as a beta for those that have been selected to access that program. They tweeted about the possibility of a closed beta test, and that has finally come to fruition.

Update 3.00 brings a wealth of social-oriented changes and is available as a beta to those enrolled in the beta program.

Update 3.00, otherwise known as Kenshin, is one of the most significant updates to the PlayStation 4 OS since it was released at the end of 2013. Some of the early footage and screenshots have shown a slight yet noticeable change in the UI design, though the focus is on adding more social-oriented features. One of the primary inclusions that Sony is advertising is the ability to stream via YouTube Gaming. And of course not everything will necessarily make it in the final build, and the final 3.00 could have things not seen in the beta.

If you’re a part of that beta test, we’d love to see what you think of this update while it’s in this stage. We look forward to seeing peoples experiences in the comments.

Update features:

Online storage capacity increase — Online storage capacity has been increased from 1GB to 10GB for all PS Plus members. A usage monitor and auto-upload menu are now included in the Application Saved Data Management.

YouTube live — YouTube Gaming is now a supported streaming option.

Events — A new hub has been added that gives an overview of in-game activities such as double XP weekends and the like.

Favorite Groups — You now have a Favorite Groups section in the Friends app, allowing for quicker accessibility of your top friends.

Communities — You’ll be able to create your own communities based on a variety of categories. These communities will have message boards, and a way to quickly start large multiplayer games.

Sharing video clips to Twitter — The ability to share directly with Twitter has been added. Maximum video length is limited to 10 seconds, however.

Stickers — Similar to the mechanism that Facebook uses, you’ll be able to send stickers to friends through messaging.

Now Playing / What’s New — More information will be available on the Now Playing screen about your friends activities. There will even be easier ways to get into a game, start a party, request screen share and even to the PSN to buy whatever your friends are playing.

Live from PlayStation — The Live From PlayStation app has been updated. It’s now easier to view popular trending broadcasts in real-time.

Request to watch gameplay — A ‘Request to Watch’ notification can now be sent to an individual which, when activated by the one playing, will start a live broadcast or let them Share Play.